The experts will interact with mayors and municipal commissioners through video link. While Barcelona has transformed to a smart city, Masdar is a greenfield cityDipak K Dash | TNN | September 03, 2015, 14:30 IST

Exclusion from the prestigious list of cities proposed to be developed as smart cities has hurt Gayaites. (Representative image)NEW DELHI: Two most reputed names in the urban planning across the globe - chief architect of Barcelona city Vicente Guallart and urban planning manager of Masdar city (Abu Dhabi) Gaurish Wagle -- will interact with mayors and commissioners of 40 smart city nominees at a workshop on Thursday.

The experts will interact with mayors and municipal commissioners through video link. While Barcelona has transformed to a smart city, Masdar is a greenfield city. The smart city scheme launched by PM Narendra Modi has both these components of redevelopment or retrofitting in existing urban areas and also provision for greenfield development.

Meanwhile, The Uttar Pradesh government, which is yet to give its justification for favouring Rae Bareli over Meerut as the state’s 13th nomination for the smart city project, will send the commissioners from both the municipal corporations to participate at the first workshop for 10 northern states and Gujarat to be held in Delhi on Thursday.

Sources in the urban development ministry said the UP government has sent names of the two municipal commissioners for the conference, which is the first in the series to sensitize and prepare states governments for the second round of competition. During this round, the urban development ministry will chose first 20 cities.

TOI has learnt that while the Centre doesn’t want to impose any decision on the state government to avoid sending any wrong message to the people of UP, the state government also prefers to delay taking any decision because of the possible political fallout of choosing one over the other.

“We are not in a hurry. The state can also make a good beginning with a few cities, if these can qualify in the second round,” said an urban development ministry official.

UP had sent both the cities for the 13th position since Meerut and Rae Bareli had scored same points during the first round of competition.

Now a full-fledged war of words has broken out in Lucknow with BJP leaders from western UP going all out to back the nomination of Meerut. For BJP, western UP is the potential fertile ground for the assembly elections. The saffron party had swept this belt in the last Lok Sabha elections.